Michael O'Neill has got Northern Ireland back on the up but they face a tough task in this World Cup qualifier against a wounded Germany side who are looking to bite back.
The former Newcastle and Hibs midfielder memorably led the Irish to Euro 2016 but successor Ian Baraclough couldn't replicate that success and his two-year reign came to an end in 2022.
O'Neill made an emotional return to the hotseat but it took him a while to work his magic, with Northern Ireland finally hitting their stride during the last Nations League campaign.
Qualifying for the World Cup will be a tall order though, with Slovkia and Luxembourg the other two teams in Group A.
O'Neill's side kicked off with a promising 3-1 win in Luxembourg on Thursday, as backing the Irish in the Asian handicap paid off for The Betting Desk.
Germany slumped to a shock 2-0 loss away to Slovakia in their opener so they will be looking to bounce back on home soil.
The Betting Desk fancied the Germans to win comfortably on Thursday but the Slovaks upset the odds.
Dropping more points against Northern Ireland is unthinkable so the pressure is on for boss Julian Nagelsmann.
How the bookies view it: No shock value
The bookies can't see Northern Ireland springing another shock in this one, with BoyleSports making O'Neill's side 22/1 rank outsiders. The German win pays just 1/7 and even the draw is huge at 11/2.
Head to head: Germans in command
Germany have never lost to Northern Ireland, winning nine of the 12 meetings and drawing the other three. They last met in the Euro 2020 qualifiers and the Irish suffered a 6-0 thrashing on German soil.
Players to watch: Go with the Flo
Florian Wirtz is still settling in at new club Liverpool but remains the key man in this Germany side and should offer the biggest threat to the Irish defence. The playmaker is 4/5 at Bet365 for a goal and 7/4 for an assist.
Isaac Price has emerged as the new Northern Ireland hero, netting seven times in his last seven caps. He missed a penalty in Luxembourg and is a bit overpriced at 7/1 with Bet365 to add another goal to his international tally.
Probable line-ups
Nagelsmann should make a few changes after such a poor performance on Thursday while O'Neill is likely to stick with the players who served him so well in Luxembourg.
Germany: Baumann, Tah, Raum, Mittelstadt, Kimmich, Goretzka, Wirtz, Adeyemi, Woltemade.
Northern Ireland: Peacock-Farrell, Toal, Hume, McNair, Bradley, Devenny, McCann, S Charles, Galbraith, Reid, Price.
Anything else catch the eye?
Although Northern Ireland have made big strides forward in the last year, they've also suffered some heavy defeats against the big boys.
Spain beat them 5-1 in a friendly last summer and that scoreline was repeated in March when Sweden dished out another hammering on the road. With six goals conceded on their last visit to Germany, I'm going to combine the home win with over 3.5 goals at 21/10 with BoyleSports.
O'Neill will probably set up to frustrate and how this game pans out will depend on if Germany can make an early breakthrough, The hosts may need to show some patience so I fancy most goals to come in the second half at 20/23.
GambleAware